video interview Archives - Job Interview Coaching

December 13, 2021February 22, 2023

How Long Does The Recruitment Process Last For?

Data has highlighted how today’s workforce isn’t scared of job-hopping, leading to employers having to constantly recruit new staff.

An increase in advertising the same job roles, time and time again, has resulted in a shortening of the recruitment process with hiring managers looking to streamline procedures, but some employers still enforce a 4-6 stage job interview process.

Employees are willing to quit their jobs

In a recent article on MRI Network, talking about the cost of a slow recruitment process, shared staggering HR statistics: “25 percent of people quit their jobs in 2021; 65 percent are currently seeking out new opportunities.”

A Gallop post, sharing statistics from a report, back-up’s the job-hopping data: “21% of millennials say they’ve changed jobs within the past year, which is more than three times the number of non-millennials who report the same.”

In the same post, it goes on to explain how 50% of millennials believe they will switch employers within a 12-month period.

The job sector the advertised job role is in, as well as the demand for a career professionals skill-set, experience, and qualifications, impacts the likelihood of an employer recruiting a long-lasting suitable employee. The MRI Network article explains: “In any market, first-choice candidates always tend to disappear quickly, as they have multiple options to pursue.”

First-choice applicants are interviewees who can communicate their competencies confidently, creating a strong ‘interview identity.’

Long vs short recruitment processes

Even with a need to hire staff quickly to fill the gaps left by job-hoppers, some employers embed long recruitment processes.

On a list of HR facts in a Zoom Shift HR Stats article, they explain how: “60% of applicants quit filling out application forms due to complexity or length. (SHRM)”

The MRI article talking about ‘slow hiring’ says: “These days, employers need to act quickly and decisively, particularly when candidates are currently employed or need to relocate.”

Recruitment processes vary by sector. A detailed study, by Linkedin, of over 400,000 confirmed hires between 2020-2021 shows the duration of hiring times:

Source: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/can-you-wait-49-days-why-getting-hired-takes-so-long-george-anders/

The graph shows how industries that value ‘precision’ have a longer recruitment process. But why? The Linkedin article explains: “Companies in the tech industry tend to value precision — sometimes false precision — over speed…. can mean putting candidates through endless technical interviews, assessing deep textbook knowledge that’s far beyond what jobs may require.”

Demand drives change

Some organisations have a higher number of applicants than others.

If a high number of career professionals seek to work at a particular company, that organisation can have a longer recruitment process without the worry of missing out on first-choice applicants.

In a Glassdoor article they explain: “On average, each corporate job opening attracts 250 résumés. Of these candidates, four to six will be called for an interview and only one will be offered a job.”

A recent press release highlighted the high number of applicants for global brands: “1 million people applied for a job at Amazon as part of Career Day 2021”

An advice article about getting a job at Google on the Independent shared eye-opening Google recruitment stats: “Google receives more than three million applications a year and hires just 7,000 people”

The automated job process

The extreme number of job applicants has resulted in HR teams utilizing artificial intelligence robots to screen applicants and to act as job interviewers.

An HR research report from 2020 started: “a third (of HR teams) – 33% anticipate high or very high use of AI in two years.” Whereas other information shows how the pandemic has already created a faster move towards the use of asynchronous video interviews.

Algorithms have a cost-saving advantage over humans, as the AI bot is able to scan a higher number of applications per day than a human HR staff member.

The increase in online AI job interviews is making career professionals nervous, with a Linkedin poll showing how two-thirds of people are more nervous being interviewed by a robot than a human.

How many interviews do I have to attend before getting a job?

Interesting 2021 HR stats were shared on Zety.

How many job interviews are needed prior to a job offer? Zety said:

“According to recruiters –

Three – 51%
Four – 22%
Two – 17%
5 or More – 9%
One – 1%

(2017 Recruiter Sentiment Study MRI Network)“

Job interviews often include:

A screening interview (more commonly completed by an AVI – asynchronous video interview)
Strcutured job interview – testing competencies
Expert knowledge interview – this can take the form of a test, activity (an actor playing out a situation) or panel interview
Strength-based interviews looking at ‘company fit’

Number of job interviews by company

Organizational recruitment processes change over time and different roles within the same business will require a different number of job interviews.

Many hiring managers will state the number of job interviews on their website and in the job specification.

The below stats will help give a general idea of the number of job interviews require to pass the hiring process.

Amazon Technical Roles – at least 5 interviews.

Screening interview
Hiring manager interview
Written test
2-9 ‘loop interviews, inclduing one with a ‘bar raiser‘

Source

Google job interviews – a round 4 stages

Online assessment
Short virtual chat
Project wrok
In-depth interview

Source

How many job interviews when applying to Microsoft – 4-5 interviews

Screening interview
Phone interview
On-site interview
HR Interview

Source

Apple interview process – 4 interviews

Screening interview with a recruiter
Screening interview with a hiring manager
Techncial interview
On-site interview

Source

3 Interviews as part of the Walt Disney recruitment process

Screening interview
Assessment centre
Face to face interview

Source

Coca Cola company hiring process – 2 job interviews

Phone interview
Panel interview

Source

How many interviews at IBM? 3 rounds

Video interview
Assessment
Final interview

Source

6 Virgin job interview rounds

Get to know you call
On-demand vidoe interview
Assessment
Discovery day
Live virtual interview
Face to face interview

Source

Chris Delaney

Chris Delaney is one of the leading job interview coaches in the country, helping career professionals to successfully pass job interviews. Delaney is the author of several job interview reference books including ‘what is your interview identity’

December 6, 2021February 22, 2023

What is an Asynchronous Video Interview and Should I Care?

An asynchronous video interview (AVI) is a job interview conducted by a computer algorithm.

In an AVI, the interviewee is filmed answering a set of pre-determined interview questions. Each interview answer must last between one or two minutes. Post two minutes and the video recording ends, even when the job applicant is halfway through their interview answer.

Never heard of an asynchronous video interview? You soon will!

AVI’s have been around for a while.

In a BBC article, they explained how some industries have already tested AVI’s prior to the recent increase in common usage: “AVIs were being used as the first stage of recruitment in the healthcare, pharmaceutical, tech, business and finance sectors..”

In 2012, around 10% of ‘top positioned’ businesses used any type of video interviewing. An article in the Financial Times by Sarah O’Connor, talking about the impact of AVI’s, said that: “Of those employers using video interviews in the UK in 2019/20, 46 percent were doing them with an interviewer, 30 percent were using automated video interviews and 24 percent were using a mix of both, according to the Institute of Student Employers.”

A poll of 334 HR leaders by Gartner found that covid increases the usage of AVI’s with 86% of organizations incorporating new virtual technology to interview candidates.

Artificial intelligence being used in the recruitment process is nothing new

Large organisations have been using Application Tracking Systems (ATS) to shift through candidates’ application forms for many years.

In a Slate article, they explain how AI is embedded into the recruitment system: “Artificial intelligence has played a growing role in recruiting and hiring for some time, as both a timesaver and a matchmaker. A.I. has been used to generate job descriptions, to post and share jobs, to automate candidate searches, and to scan résumés and cover letters..”

Mid to large companies use ATS if they receive a high number of applications for multiple job positions. AI can sort the weak from the strong, the unsuitable from the suitable, a lot quicker than a human can. ATS mainly makes decisions based on keywords embedded throughout the application form.

Recent research by JobScan found that “at least 494 Fortune 500 companies use an ATS, we were able to identify the exact ATS for 482 of them. This means that 98.8% of Fortune 500 companies use an ATS”.

Artificial intelligence, from an employer’s perspective, is about saving time and money. But where does this leave the job seeker?

Which Organisation use AI Interviewers?

A high number of large companies are known to be using asynchronous video interviews, including:

PwC
Unilever
Kingfisher
Hermes
JP Morgan
Amazon

Different Trypes of Asynchronous Video Job Interviews

Understanding the platform the employer chooses to use is deemed as being highly important.

An updated article, on Select Software Reviews, details 13 AVI’s being used, including:

VidCruiter
Hireview
MyInterview

In Slates ‘should robots be conducting interviews’ article, they explain that the various algorithms used by the various programmes look at various criteria: “Like humans, these bot recruiters have their own unique styles of interviewing. Some are merely seeking logistical information, like availability and ongoing interest, while others might be looking to assess drive, initiative, team-working skills, adaptability, or even your tendency to job hop.”

The BBC go-on to explain some of the challenges when interviewed by an AI system: “There are challenges; AVIs can vary in the amount of time allotted for each answer, and not every programme will give candidates unlimited preparation time or allow them to re-record a section if they are unhappy with their first attempt”

Some robot interviewers choose candidates based on their interview answers (keywords that match the job criteria), with others reading facial expressions and the candidates tonality.

A researcher, speaking to the Mirror, shared concerns that working-class applicants could be at a disadvantage when a robotic interviewer analyze voice and tonality of a job candidate, if the working class interview doesn’t have “beautifully compiled grammar”

How to Prepare for an Asynchronous Video Job Interview?

Each job applicant should first reflect on their past job interview performances and take the interview identity test to understand how they are viewed by an employer.

Specifically for an AVI recruitment process, job applicants must:

1. Set up the interview environment and IT systems

A full guide to setting up for an online interview can be found here: Online Job Interviews.

The biggest question asked is “what happens if my internet signal drops during the asynchronous interview?”

Luckily, the designers of AVI’s have tackled this potential problem. As an applicant’s signal starts to dip, a warning indicator pops onto the screen. When the signal is lost, the interview will atomically stop and only resume once the candidate’s internet signal strength is strong.

2. Practice speaking to camera

In the online job interview article, it explains the importance of looking at the camera, not the screen, to help improve eye contact.

For systems that monitor facial expressions, feeling an emotion (excitement, joy, happiness) will automatically show on the applicant’s face.

Many applicants worry about the turnaround from entering the virtual interview room and being monitored. In most cases, an interviewee can access the AVI, take a deep breath to relax, before actually starting the interview.

In fact, many AVIs have a practice interview question to help the candidate prepare and ready themselves.

3. Predict the job interview questions and preapre answers

In advance, the employer will send details of the AVI. This will include the date/time of the interview – this is often optional over several dates.

As there are no human interviewers, the job interview isn’t on a specific time on a set date.

The career professional needs to log in, often within a seven-day period, 24hrs a day, and complete the interview at a time convenient to them.

Candidates will also be told the number of interview questions they will be asked – with the average being three questions. And the duration of the interview answer, which is often one or two minutes per answer. Sometimes this information is present once the candidate logs onto the AVI.

The three interview questions will be chosen to gain a better understanding of the job applicant’s suitability for the role. In most cases, AVI’s are used to reduce the number of applicants, which can be as many as 20,000 for global companies to a manageable number of interviewees who will be invited for a face-to-face interview with a human.

One question will be a generic question on suitability “Tell me why you are suitable for the role?” or “Tell me about yourself?” or “What can you bring to the role?”

The additional questions will be more specific, based on the key job criteria: “Give me an example of when you did X?” or “What is your experience doing X”

How do you speak to a robot interviewer?

Research shows how a nervous job applicant will self-disclose weaknesses, give shorter responses and use excessive filler words.

The key to being seen as suitable is through a confident delivery of the interview answer.

Confidence is one element that creates a strong interview identity. A job interview identity is created by a mixture of content and delivery. An employer will have a positive view of a job applicant who they perceive to have a high level of knowledge and experience and who delivers answers with confidence.

AI interviewers have built-in software to understand mispronounced words, and to understand local slang.

But the advice is to always speak clearly and to pace yourself. Talk slower than you would when naturally speaking and focus on diction.

As with a human interviewer, be self-promoting, enthusiastic (especially if the bot is monitoring your tonality), and stick to the time frame of the interview answer.

Are AVI’s here to stay?

The test results aren’t in yet.

There are many concerns around biases with AI interviewers, as they are programmed by humans and data that are filled with biases.

Many people on social media talk about how being interviewed by a robot increase job interview anxiety.

But with one large grocery chain in the U.S. using an AVI to interview about 20,000 people a day for stocker and cashier jobs, it sounds like there will be an increase in robot job interviews.

With an increase in technology and a move to a virtual reality world, future job interviews could be delivered in the metaverse.

Chris Delaney

February 14, 2017November 21, 2020

How To Ace A Video Interview

Ace the Video Interview, Tips for Job Hunters

Online job interviews are more coming ever so popular with more large employers and recruitment agencies using a video platform as a time-saving device in their recruitment process.

However, video job interviews is a difficult task for any fresh recruit. There are several tips that you can implement to increase your chances of a job interview.

Be warn the interview questions may be the same but how you communicate online differs from a face to face job interview.

The Basics

We need to cover the basics.

Ok, check you have a good internet connection (you need both good upload and download speed)

Prepare your interview answers as you do with all job interviews. Not sure how to do this? Simply use the search engine of this site to find commonly asked interview questions (you can check this by sector)

You still need to dress appropriately and think about your USP your Unique Selling Point

Control the Environment

The environment for the video job interview is key. It is easy for the interviewer to become distracted by your background, interruptions and poor internet quality

You need to create a blank background. You can do this by panning the camera in on a wall you sit in front or by using a sheet to create a blank canvas

Ensure to tell your house mates not to enter the room (this seems obvious but is a common mistake) and turn of your phone

This is simple advice but this is key. A distracted interviewer doesn’t listen to your interview answer, which means you don’t get the job offer

Avoid Using Online Platforms on your Mobile Phone

Using iPad or camera phone can be a major mistake for a video interview. The small screen size of an iPad is considered too small to engage a candidate. Instead, you should use a LED monitor which is big enough to clearly show the foreground and background of the space of the candidate.

A good-sized screen will allow also you to thoroughly scrutinize the body language of the candidate which is important to analyze his behavior during the interview.

Pace Your Communication

When you practice this, and you do need to practice this technique. You need to talk twice as slow as you do in normal life and leave longer gaps between sentences.

A lot of communication is lost on a video interview. Even though the interviewer can see on the screen a large percentage of body language, gestures and facial expression (all key non-verbal communication) is lost or missed

Due to this, you need to increase your verbal communication. Watch your pace, speed, volume and increase your chance of tonality, gaps in sentences and delete any “filler” words.

January 16, 2017November 21, 2020

How To Conduct A Video Interview Like An Expert?

Conduct A Video Interview Like A Pro

The trend of conducting a video interview has become common in the corporate sector nowadays.

Conducting a video interview, however, is a difficult task for any fresh HR professional.

Nonetheless, it can be as manageable as a one-on-one interview with the right approach. Being a fresh HR professional, conducting a video interview in a professional way is one of your biggest challenges.

This write-up seeks to help the HR professionals who have a video interview lined up in the schedule and don’t know the ways to go about it. In this article, they’ll find some effective tips and techniques for conducting a video interview successfully.

Without further ado, let’s drill down some of the ways HR professionals can conduct a video interview like an expert:

Set Your Goals

No task is fruitful unless you set the goals for it and the same goes for conducting a video interview. Therefore, you first need to set the goals of your interview according to the hiring policy of your organization.

Once you do it successfully, you will be able to identify the right person who fits the job position and align with the policy of your organization.

Research About the Candidate

Before you conduct a video interview with a candidate, you should first find some information about the person. This will help you prepare your question list based on the personality, academic background and professional experience of the candidate.

Since the job history of the majority of the professionals is available on LinkedIn, you can easily jot down the most critical details about the career profile of a candidate and use them as cues while you engage in the Q & A session.

Ensure That You Have A Seamless Internet Connection

The internet connection is one of the many things that you must consider prior to conducting a video interview.

You need to make sure that your internet connection is stable and uninterrupted.

In this way, you’ll be able to converse with the candidate without irritating yourself due to internet downtime or interrupted network coverage.

Dress Up Like a True Professional

Having a video chat does not imply that you overlook your attire.

In fact, it makes it even more important to dress properly during a video interview and show your true professionalism.

Therefore, it is advisable to comply with the dress code of the company and convey the same instructions to the prospective candidate.

Keep The Distractions At Bay

Distractions are the biggest turn off when you are engaged in a video interview.

It not only diverts your attention but also puts your focus away from important parts of the interview.

Therefore, it is important to get rid of things that might interrupt your interaction with the candidate, such as cell phones, squeaky sounds, or any flashy images in the vicinity of the interview room.

Avoid Using An iPad

Using iPad can be a major mistake for a video interview.

The small screen size of an iPad is considered too small to engage a candidate. Instead, you should use a LED monitor that is big enough to clearly show the foreground and background of the space of the candidate.

A good-sized screen will allow also you to thoroughly scrutinize the body language of the candidate which is important to analyze his behavior during the interview.

The aforementioned are some of the expert tips on conducting a video interview as an HR professional. Hope they serve you as guiding principles for your next hiring appointment and help you find the best candidate for a job.

Author Bio

Scarlett Erin is Head of human resource management at Assignment Star. She is also a pro academic writer and provides assignment help UK services to students all over the world. In addition, she is an active blogger and seeks it as a way to share insightful tips and advice on the matters of human resource management.